Op-Ed: Vote Yes on the Greek Life Referendum

As we hope you are well aware, the referendum on Greek life will be taking place today and tomorrow on Moodle. Since the referendum is fast approaching and given the recent dispute over posters we have put up, we thought it would be helpful to clarify the origin of this campaign and the rationale behind it.

So, how did we get here? The campaign began last spring, when the administration announced that it would permit sororities to return to campus. A number of us were bothered by the fact that this decision was handed down by the administration, with little input from the student body. Nevertheless, we decided to look into the issue, and spoke with a number of members of the Not Yet Sisters (NYS) who intended to form the sorority. We left these conversations reassured by two promises: first, that a sorority-to-be would provide financial assistance in order to eliminate economic barriers to potential pledges, and second, that it would have a clear policy of admitting any woman-identified student.

Fast forward to this spring, by which time NYS had selected Kappa Alpha Theta for its national affiliation. The national chapter sent two Educational Leadership Consultants, or ELCs, to campus with the intention of recruiting members and answering the community’s questions about Theta. We found it upsetting that the ELCs—representatives of the national organization and its values—proved ignorant of trans issues, stating that a trans person’s sex assigned at birth is their “real gender.” Moreover, in an open meeting on campus, the ELCs and national representatives from Kappa Alpha Theta stated sisters would need to be registered as female on the college records in order to be a part of the sorority. While Swarthmore’s chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta announced yesterday in a public notice that they will admit trans women and provide financial assistance for dues, we have been, and remain, troubled by the fact that the group would choose to affiliate with a national organization whose stated policies discriminate on the basis of wealth and gender.

During the period in which the sorority got its start, a separate set of issues with the fraternities began to come to light. A number of intensely troubling stories of sexual assault, violent behavior, and homophobic, sexist and racist hate speech committed by members of the fraternities, in and out of their houses, came to our attention. Beyond the incidents themselves, we were shocked by the indifference of witnesses (brothers included) and the lack of accountability among the fraternity leadership when they were informed of what transpired. These problems have been illustrated by two students who courageously shared their stories in The Daily Gazette. In an op-ed published on The Daily Gazette in February, Parker Murray ’15 describes being verbally and physically assaulted by a brother while others looked on; the offender was not punished by his fraternity. In another piece, Marian Firke ’14 describes being harassed by the multiple fraternity brothers who aimed to keep her quiet about the menacing behavior of one of their brothers.

Given inadequate responses by the Greek organizations and administration to these problems, we decided that holding a referendum on Greek life would call attention to the issue. Joyce Wu ’15 announced the first petition to hold a referendum in mid-February. The leaders of the Greek organizations took offense at this and claimed that the move came out of left field. We then agreed to hold all-campus discussions about the problems with Greek life. At the first meeting, representatives of the Greek organizations did not propose any meaningful policies to address the problems raised. The second meeting was nearly scuttled when Greek organization leadership refused to have the meeting moderated by a dean trained in mediation. Still, we relented and allowed the meeting to proceed with the Student Council co-presidents moderating in place of the dean. At this meeting, members of the Greek organizations once again proposed no substantive policies and rejected all structural changes posed by unaffiliated students.

Since the discussion was not leading toward any concrete solution to the pressing problems of violent behavior and hate speech, Joyce decided to hold a new petition for a referendum. In light of the perspectives the discussion opened up, we included six questions in the new referendum to make it a true test of campus opinion, which you can read here. These proposals include five major structural reforms to Greek organizations and a proposal for abolition. They are:

Do you support ceasing Delta Upsilon’s and Kappa Alpha Theta’s affiliations to their national chapters?

Do you support admitting students of all genders to sororities and fraternities?

Do you support making fraternity houses into substance-free spaces?

Do you support merging all sororities and fraternities into one campus building?

Do you support having no campus buildings expressly for the purpose of housing Greek organizations?

Do you support the abolition of sororities and fraternities at Swarthmore College?

Since we have heard from many students that the posters we hung last week made too short shrift of the issues, we’d like to spell out here the reasons for voting YES on Monday and Tuesday:

At other institutions, sexual assault, unsafe drinking practices, violent behavior, and homophobic, sexist, and racist hate speech committed by fraternity members here would merit serious punishment to the organization as a whole. At the University of Michigan, for example, a fraternity was suspended and then expelled from campus when a pledge was hospitalized for alcohol poisoning. Additionally, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a fraternity was suspended after a group of students at a fraternity party used racial slurs against and threw a glass bottle at two black students. After the numerous instances similar occurrences on our campus, we would expect the fraternities to be held accountable. Instead, they have continued operating as is.

One of the most basic tenets of a Greek organization is to privilege the bonds between an individual and their brothers or sisters over that between those they have with other students. This type of emphasis leads to the coercive behavior described in Marian’s op-ed. It also leads to the complicity with misbehavior described in Parker’s. In other words, Greek organizations have a culture that shields wrongdoers from accountability and scares victims into silence. We do not deny that unsafe drinking, sexual assault, and harassment on the basis of race, sexual orientation, and gender identity happen on other parts of campus, but this aspect of Greek culture makes these events even more dangerous. Furthermore, tackling them in one specific group of organizations is one part of tackling the issue at large.

Disciplinary problems with Greek organizations are routed to Tom Elverson, Delta Upsilon brother and advisor to the fraternities. This policy creates separate disciplinary channels for fraternity brothers and other students. We expect students to be treated equally.

The fraternities maintain disproportionate control over the party spaces on campus. Of the four major party spaces, two are fraternity houses (the others being Paces and Olde Club). This is unfair not only because many students do not feel comfortable in the fraternity houses, but also because no other student group has such a degree of control over wet spaces.

Fraternities are the only organizations on campus that are the sole occupants of a building. The Intercultural Center, Black Cultural Center, and Women’s Resource Center are shared spaces that numerous groups occupy and that the college ultimately controls. Furthermore, these spaces are all dry. Some student groups have offices or rooms that they have control over, but these are not equivalent to a full building, as well as being completely non-residential.

While Swarthmore’s chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta has confirmed that it is open to anyone who identifies as a woman, representatives of the national chapter have yet to articulate a clear policy regarding the acceptance of all woman-identifying students. We were told by a representative of the national organization that Kappa Alpha Theta’s current stance is that they have a “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule. This represents a gap in communication between the local chapter and the national organization that is highly concerning. Similarly, the national chapter of Delta Upsilon requires that all brothers be registered as male on college records. Furthermore, students who do not identify within the gender binary are completely excluded from all Greek organizations, since they identify as neither women nor men. No other student group has such trans-exclusive policies.

The Greek organizations have yet to propose any meaningful policies that would address any of the above points. The proposals made during the two campus-wide discussions included creating a college Pan-Hellenic Council, which would merely increase bureaucracy and further separate Greek organizations from other student groups.

We have heard the argument that making decisions about Greek organizations by referendum would lead to a slippery slope where the majority of the student body could make decisions about any student group that they don’t like. Historical precedents would indicate that this is not the case. In 1933, Swarthmore abolished sororities by referendum, yet no other group has since been voted off campus by referendum. Furthermore, Greek organizations are not ordinary student groups. They require special Board of Managers approval in order to form, are not regulated by Student Council like every other group, occupy their own buildings, and have more privileges than other student groups.

In order for the referendum to pass, 1/3 of the campus must participate in the vote, and of those who do not vote “no preference” each question, a majority must vote “yes.”

Please consider these points and use them to inform your decision when you vote today or tomorrow. Thank you.

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73 comments

I am a student involved in Greek life at a Big 10 university. This debate was brought to my attention by an unaffiliated friend who attends Swarthmore, and I would just like to contribute my thoughts.

First, let me say that Greek life, like any other institution, has both strengths and faults. As with EVERY other organization, both members and nonmembers should work for accountability, transparency, and positive change in any area that demands improvement.

Now: while I am not overly familiar Swarthmore, I do know that Greek life is compelling because of its ability to unify people in such a way that transcends any demographic classification. Disbanding or restricting Greek life to the extent proposed in this referendum will only cripple and oppress it. This proposal was created out of fear, ignorance, and disregard for the institution’s vast potential for good. Furthermore, these restrictive actions only passively reinforce the negative stereotypes about Greek life.

Instead, reject your fear, not Greeks. Work to challenge the problem and evolve the institution. This is an amazing opportunity to have the discussion about gender identity, violence, and racism on a NATIONAL stage. Please, work with the advisors and leaders of DU, Theta, and Phi Psi; they may be shocked or slow-acting at first, but extend to them the same standard of patience and tolerance that you demand for your peers. Believe me, if they didn’t want to support you, then they wouldn’t still be here.

Swarthmore, you have the opportunity to be trailblazers here. The rest of the world is not yet on your level– educate the national council of your Greek organizations. Don’t turn them away, educate them.

While I am greatly pleased that a large majority of the campus voted to preserve Greek life, I hope that the discord and acrimony surrounding the topic can dissipate in favor of constructive solutions. I’m certain that the Greek organizations remain committed to personal and organizational betterment. I also encourage everyone to attend a Consent Workshop and come out to a great party this weekend. Dikaia Upotheke.

I know you can only speak for DU, but what steps do you think Greek organizations will you take to account for the fact that the majority of students support a gender-neutral Greek life? And while I support consent workshops, what other steps will you be taking to ensure the safety of your peers?

I think it’s been made clear that you want this fight to be over, but this conversation needs to keep happening. These problems (especially those of sexual assault and homophobia/transphobia) need to be addressed in concrete ways.

I’m so grateful for the opportunities that Greek Life has provided for me, and I think it’s a real shame that that experience is not available to people who identify outside the gender binary. I hope we can all work together and push for the addition of a gender-neutral Greek Life organisation here at Swarthmore. Instead of trying to get rid of everything that we don’t agree with, let’s come together and build on what already exists. It’s high time we came together as a community again.

(The following is intended as a reply to “Trying to get a read here”, for some reason there isn’t a reply link on their comment.)

The vast majority of trans* people I know would prefer it if more things were gender-neutral. It’s true that they feel strongly about their gender, but that’s not the same as wanting everyone else to make a big deal about it. Most of them would much prefer it if people paid less attention, not more, to others’ gender/sex so that they could feel free to have whatever gender expression they want without other people judging them on it. I’ve never met a trans person who wanted a stronger gender binary.

So, wait. Ok. As a thought experiment, let’s say that DU (unclear on this policy at either a college or organizational letter) and Phi Psi (ditto) and Kappa Alpha Theta (which regardless of national policy seems for all intents and purposes to be open on this regard) allow trans* members, or for all pragmatic purposes anyone who identifies as being male or female. Would this be oppressive? To be honest, it’s hard for me to picture a complete, straight “yes” answer to this question that in some way would not be offensive to some trans* people (at least folks I know personally) as it seems to be denying that there’s anything significant at all about gender. That is, for me, this would be necessitated on some chain of logic that would also result in someone saying, “trans* person don’t bother identifying as what you feel you are and have struggled with for years, because what you feel you are does not mean anything and it is oppressive for you to reify that gender category,” but I’d like to hear more as I realize this may be a straw man argument.

Practically speaking, I think the next step for change w/r/t the referendum would be to allow trans*men brothers into the fraternities if this is not already true. I think that’s how the brothers could best show their support.

Allison,
I think that question was worded in a confusing manner, given that a majority also voted to have Greeks keep their national affiliations. DU and Theta by-laws are not gender neutral, a point which was repeatedly expressed in the debates, so any change would not be binding on us. That leaves Phi Psi, which would be a very interesting point of development.

DU has a committed program of sober brothers and a leadership open to any and all complaints. I personally have sober brothered multiple times. My personal safety impact has been that of PA Coordinator. Under my direction, the program has expanded in scope and personnel, while also increasing in professionalization. Any problems that occur at parties to be immediately reported to the PAs, who entrusted to respond in an appropriate manner, regardless of where the party is.

I agree that these issues need to be addressed but could I politely suggest you raise them with the administration, rather than continuing the war against us?

Students voted “no” on the *abstract question* of whether DU and Theta should have their national affiliation ceased. That’s separate from whether they should admit all genders, even if it means that they must disaffiliate. Wording and context matter. People might have no independent desire to see the national affiliations ceased while still thinking that making them all-gender is worth that consequence.

O! How fortunate we are as esteemed students and alumni of swarthmore college to have the ignorance removed from our eyes. Where I once was blind I now see. Alas, it only took the mighty self-righteous indignation of the class of 2015 to condemn such campus institutions.

We are blessed that individuals were able to valiantly ascend their high horses to cast judgement for systemic issues upon those deemed by public opinion to be most culpable. Nay, nay I say, shall we investigate the empirical evidence. Rather, let us push salem’s lot to the pyre and dance upon the graves.

How enlightened we have become! How just we have made ourselves! For we have forced from our midst those that think differently. Whilst we study and dwell underneath the roofs of structures generously donated by alumni of these institutions, let us strike these names from the record books. We care not for your past deeds and hold your current incarnations responsible for a blight upon the whole world.

For my crusade is the only crusade and it is the most righteous crusade. And may I always revel in the majesty of my conquest. For we now may look upon our children and tell the tales of how we smote the mighty beast that seemingly emanated the evil of this world. And though we never approached to mirror to ensure that evil was not within or behind us, we know that we have been fulfilled as we felled those at the tips of our swords.

……not that i’m going to lift much more attention away from my studies right now: I respect all the time everyone has been putting into trying to have discussions on campus, but I’d love to know more about how we can improve transparency and at least discuss how Theta is different at Swat/other stuff and if that can be good enough to make people feel respected and safe on campus, and discuss more about if and how the disciplinary system that the deans have for Greek life is not good enough, before discounting them a lot in this OP-ED.

but I guess the questions are starkly deterministic already for a reason…? I voted but did not really understand why people did not try for a campus-wide pole or to get more deans in on a campus wide discussion first, to try and get more consensus first, before these accusatory chalkings and stuff happened (but I could have missed some events for sure)

May I also go by my favorite TFM of all time and say this: “Goths call us conformists. Hipsters call us mainstream. PETA calls us cruel. Environmentalists call us close-minded. Feminists call us womanizers. Socialists call us greedy. Liberals call us ignorant. But despite all this, society calls us successful. TFM.”

As a member of a fraternity, no, not a Swarthmore, I will honestly be surprised if this referendum passes. After reading this article I honestly saw no point as to why you GDIs wish to get rid of Greek Life at your campus, considering they have done nothing wrong. Sure I think TFM is a hilarious website even though it can get crude at times; this doesn’t mean that the chapters on your campus have any affiliation with it and shouldn’t be punished for something they didn’t commit. Making Fraternities and Sororities gender neutral may honestly be one of the dumbest things I have ever heard; they are separate for a reason. I am sorry if you affiliate with a different gender than the one you were born with, but that its your own damn choice, and if you’re not happy with a frat/sorority not letting you in THEN DON’T JOIN ONE. Substance free spaces…yeah good luck with that one. Its college for a reason. I’m pretty sure non-greek members drink and do other drugs, so stop being so damn hypocritical. No idea what the housing issue is so I’m not going to go over that. As for completely getting rid of the greek system, honestly you are just hurting your school. You will lose money from donations from Greek graduates. 71% of Greek members graduate, while only 50% of non-greek members graduate. 85% of supreme court justices have been in the greek system. Fraternities require members to have a high GPA. All but two U.S. presidents since 1825 have been Greek. We do hours of community service as well as raising millions of dollars for charities around the world. So how about instead of fighting an organization that does all this, you go out and do something productive for society?

It is funny how people always grammatical mistakes as a comeback when they actually have nothing constructive to say in response. Sorry people make mistakes with typing. Also grammar isn’t my strong point considering I am a bio-medical engineering major and I deal with a lot more difficult stuff than grammar. If you have anything in response to the actual points I made then I would love to hear it.

But how do you effectively communicate that difficult stuff without grammar? What’s the use if it’s all in your head but no one else can understand your attempts to communicate about it because your head is so full of more difficult stuff that it can’t also handle grammar?

I actually don’t think that your posts are hard to understand or that perfect grammar is required to make a point, but your arguments against the grammar critic are pretty flimsy.

1. I didn’t want that either. You’ll notice that my first response to your first posts makes no mention of your writing skills, and in fact, I’m not the one who started talking about them at all. I always use my name for DG comments.

2. Not only that, but I defended your writing, pointing out that even though I think grammar is important and your arguments against caring about it don’t work for me, that perfection isn’t necessary.

3. I never called you an asshole. I also never attacked you. I pointed out a couple of problems with your initial argument, and then didn’t think your argument against grammar was so hot.

4. I didn’t propose any arguments. Who are you even addressing with this comment?

I honestly never wanted to make this an argument about my damn grammar. I was trying to make a point against some of the arguments that you proposed. It’s called debate. I never put you down at all, criticized you, or attacked you. Yet then you attack me and call me the asshole.

I think the majority of the Swarthmore community disagrees with some assumptions you’ve made. I also believe some of the statements you’ve made are likely hurtful to members of our community. However, this is the most thoughtful TFM comment I’ve run across. And I genuinely think you want to debate with us, so a serious response and hopefully a respectful response.

1. “Sure I think TFM is a hilarious website even though it can get crude at times”
When someone threatens to light a member of our community on fire, regardless of that community members politics, we don’t find it funny. The harassment of Joyce was more than crude. I respect that our senses of humor will be different, but I think you can understand why the Swarthmore community is furious with TFM.

2. Punishing the frats for TFM.

We aren’t punishing the frats for TFM. The referendum got started long before many Swarthmore students were even knew TFM existed. Is the referendum based on the behavior of frats not at Swarthmore? Maybe, but not really. While frustration with the behavior of fraternities as an institution may be in the minds of some students, mostly we are frustrated with our own fraternities. If you read the Op-eds that have been written, our fraternities have not been immune to the homophobia and misogyny plaguing other frats. We want queer students to feel safe. We want there to be fewer (zero!) rapes. We’ve tried a lot of things and they haven’t worked. We ask ourselves really agonizing questions. Why after extensive sexual assault workshops, do frat members still rape? And we try to change things. Honestly, I’m not sure how abolishing fraternities will reduce rapes, because while the sexual assault workshops are not be 100% effective at preventing rape, I believe they are better than nothing. But people behind this referendum do believe that abolishing fraternities will reduce rape. Even if I disagree with their reasoning, I respect them because they are trying to DO SOMETHING about a real problem.

3.I am sorry if you affiliate with a different gender than the one you were born with, but that its your own damn choice, and if you’re not happy with a frat/sorority not letting you in THEN DON’T JOIN ONE.

It’s not a choice. I don’t think we are sure how exactly gender identity forms, but we know this: it is not a choice and there aren’t just 2 genders. There’s a kind of cool primer here, though new models suggest it’s not a linear, but a multidimensional thing:

There are 2 problems with fraternities here. First, it’s wrong to prevent man/woman identifying people from joining a Frats or Sororities. Second, what about people who identify as genderqueer and want a social (partying) community that also does community service and has career connections? They are barred from this gender exclusive community. Someone might say, well they can get what they need from other organizations. But when another person suggests that frat brothers could get what they need from non greek organizations, that same someone will claim that Greek life is different. There’s a contradiction here. This is an equality issue.

4. Dry houses: yeah good luck with that one. Its college for a reason.

I tend to agree.

5. You will lose money from donations from Greek graduates.

It’s not about the money for us.

6. Graduation Rates, GPA, Success

Unclear if these are true for Swarthmore.

9. Service Work

The service work Greek life does is awesome. I tip my cap to Swarthmore Greek life on this. Justice requires that we serve our neighbor. But we have to serve our neighbors in all different ways. Social justice is about organized service work and it’s about showing compassion and respecting the dignity of all people in your day to day interactions. Our frats have failed on many occasions to live up to the last one.

Thank you for at least taking me somewhat seriously and being open ended compared to some others in this comment section. I go to University of Wisconsin so obviously our are cultures different, and I didn’t mean to impede on your school’s life, but you guys want to abolish something that has become a major part of my life. I don’t see your reasoning with abolishing Fraternities will help get rid of rape. Are you saying that all rapists belong to a Fraternity? Or that if someone rapes someone they are automatically in a Fraternity? I’m sorry but there are bad people out there that aren’t in Fraternities, so it is still going to happen. And sure get rid of fraternities, but the assholes who were them doing it are still going to rape people because well they’re assholes, but not all Fraternity members are. I don’t want to touch upon this gender issue because honestly I have never dealt with it and don’t want to be ignorant towards those people. I’m just trying to say that, yes, Fraternities are exclusive, but they aren’t the only exclusive groups out there. Gender-wise (male and female) there are fraternities and sororities that are both equal. People who don’t affiliate with either…a fraternity is honestly just a group of guys who hang out and party together..so maybe get together a group of friends and make your own group? Glad we agree on the alcohol thing. Money…ok I was merely saying for other smaller colleges that can be an issue. The GPA comment was just true as a generality of all colleges in the US. Maybe it’s different at your school, so I’ll drop it. I’m sorry but getting rid of Fraternities are not going to solve any of these problems.

1. “I am sorry if you affiliate with a different gender than the one you were born with, but that its your own damn choice, and if you’re not happy with a frat/sorority not letting you in THEN DON’T JOIN ONE.”

Huh? People aren’t born with genders that they then deny, genders are assigned. It may be that some people deliberately choose their genders out of thin air, but most people feel that they just plain *are* their genders. Also, that last bit is really, REALLY circular: if you’re upset that you’re not let in, don’t join? But if someone can’t get in, then they *can’t* join, so why is your recommended course of action to *decide* not to join, when there isn’t actually another option?

2. “71% of Greek members graduate, while only 50% of non-greek members graduate.”

I don’t actually have the figures at hand, but I have a strong hunch that this is not representative of Swarthmore’s graduation rates.

I would like to comment on why Theta is hesitant to allow any female-identified person to join. Title XI deals with gender discrimination as I am sure most of you know. Fraternities and sororities were granted an exemption and there is a fair bit of concern about protecting this. As such I suspect they are afraid that if they were to allow female-identified persons in who are legally male they would lose this and have to admit even those who identify as male. As for the reasons why the wouldn’t want to do that there is a good deal of history there. For instance Theta’s primary founder wanted to join a male fraternity and was not admitted because she was a woman. She stated that one of the reasons she founded Theta was to help women on a man’s campus (this was 1870 after all). The founding idea was to provide women a support system which I suspect many would think would be undermined if male identified persons were admitted. Admitting female-identified persons who are legally male would make this hard to maintain.

I’m not sure where in title IX it requires a person to be “legally” female, whatever that means, just that the person must be female. By Swarthmore standards, people who identify as female are female. What’s the problem?

Someone please enlighten me. Will Theta allow any female identified person to join or not? The contradictory comments that are being made (even by the Theta organization/members themselves) are problematic and not appreciated.

I have a question for the authors of this well thought out op-Ed. My vote is still up in there as I think these issues through. I just wonder what the next step in the process is if say the campus votes in favor or against the referendum. Do fraternities have to immediately exit? Who gets the space? Who is in charge pf the space? What about the members of fraternities living in the houses? What about the substantial investment each group has put into their house? Would greek life be safe for the foreseeable future from continuous referenda? Furthermore and most importantly, how do we unify a so clearly divided campus?

I’m a member of SwatVoteYes, and while our main aim has been starting discussions about the problems surrounding Greek Life and the need for a referendum, we’ve been discussing future plans as well.

The first step is going to the administration. Although, as many anti-referendum folks have pointed out, they are not obligated to listen to this vote, showing them that a majority of the student body feels this way should have some sway. Whereas it is easy to dismiss individual students calling for reform, an organized and large vote will be less easily ignored.

As for space, the College actually owns the frat houses and the land they sit on. I can’t speak for those living in the houses (there are only one or two students, no?) but we hope the spaces could be operated as Paces and Olde Club currently are. If the referendums concerning space do pass and implementation is a problem, we have a recent model to look to: just 22 years ago, Swat reclaimed the house being operated by Phi Sigma Kappa.

As for uniting the campus…that’s going to take a lot of work. But it’s not impossible.

If anyone has questions about SwatVoteYes or just the referendum in general, you can contact those listed as the authors of this article, or myself (ahrabar1) and we’ll be happy to answer them.

“As for space, the College actually owns the frat houses and the land they sit on. I can’t speak for those living in the houses (there are only one or two students, no?) but we hope the spaces could be operated as Paces and Olde Club currently are. If the referendums concerning space do pass and implementation is a problem, we have a recent model to look to: just 22 years ago, Swat reclaimed the house being operated by Phi Sigma Kappa.”

Fair warning: I am not, nor was I ever, a member of DU, but have been told this about the contractual arrangement between the college and DU. Current members or alumni should correct me if wrong.

It is actually much, much more complicated than you make it seem. At some point during its tenure, Delta Upsilon surrendered its house to the college in return for a lifetime lease prohibiting the college using the space for other purposes or by other groups. Therefore, I highly doubt it is a simple as you make it. Taking the house from DU would likely require some fun legal battles.

Further, the comparison to Phi Sigma Kappa is flat wrong. That fraternity surrendered its house because it was grossly in debt, and giving the house to the college rectified that. Neither DU or Phi Psi are currently in debt.

While we won’t dispute that some of the most contentious issues on campus frequently blur the lines between fact and opinion, we want to remind you that this piece is an op-ed–a type of opinion piece written by community members and emailed to the editors, quite like what The New York Times publishes. It’s quite clear from the note included in this piece that it was written by a partisan group hoping to make their position clear. You’re free to submit an op-ed as you please. No journalism required.

Let us all pause to appreciate the beauty of someone from TFM lecturing us.

Better a bunch of elitist snobs than a bunch of drunk anti-intellectuals who represent every form of traditional intolerance (racism, sexism, homophobia, classism). Even Swarthmore’s frat brothers are ashamed of the TFM representation.

Instead of putting up posters, SwatVoteYes should have just printed out this website and posted it on campus:

Would all you anonymous assholes from TFM please stay the hell away from our school. You’re a bunch of vicious cowards with no respect for anything or anybody. You’re not welcome here. Please stick to posting horrific comments on your own website. Leave ours alone.

I have very little insight to provide, but from what I’ve gathered here, I assume the supporters of this petition are very sexually frustrated, antisocial minorities. Read up on some freedom-of-association literature. I’m sure you’ll find that you’re all a heap of fuck-faces.

I agree that it’s for the best that users from TFM don’t wander over to the DG and start trolling. However, I think people on this campus also need to be informed that tfm.com was intended by its creators as a satirical representation of the “frat lifestyle”.

Nowhere in my comment did I defend the website or its comments section.

My comment was only meant to clarify that the website is a genre of satire which I believe a significant portion of campus was unaware of. I draw this from personal experience of overhearing people say thing such as, “at least the frats here aren’t THAT bad” or “those comments are to be expected from fraternity guys”.

I don’t care who they are: they have already proven that they do not abide by our Swarthmore values and that they have nothing constructive to add to this conversation. They are consequently not welcome here.

What is the Daily Gazette’s comment policy going to be for this article in the event a lot of TFM-ers wander over here? I don’t necessarily think things will get out of hand, but anyone who has read the boards at TFM knows their community is threatening, hateful, racist, homophobic, and misogynistic.

Short answer: we will deal with each comment on a comment by comment basis and hope to maintain as open a forum as possible. We do not (generally) approve threats or hate speech. (The exception (which makes up the majority) is for example an anonymous commenter threatening to fart on another anonymous commenter’s mom’s pillow. These will be approved in the spirit of an open forum). Email editors [at] daily [dot] swarthmore [dot] edu if you have any other questions or concerns or to tip us off if you see a comment you find particularly dangerous and offense.

In regards to #8, the sororities were abolished by an internal referendum (i.e. only sorority sisters could vote, not the whole campus) because the sisters at Swarthmore were dismayed at discrimination they had been exposed to on other campuses. Drawing a connection between that process and this one is a false parallel.

For #2: “Do you support admitting students of all genders to sororities and fraternities?” – is this targetted mainly at trans students who identify as male and might want to pledge Phi Psi/DU or female and want to pledge Theta, or is this across all genders? Basically, would this question, if passed and enacted, mean that if I identify as a male, I can still pledge Theta?

Also, would passing #2 automatically pass #1? That is, would the national organizations not be willing to support groups that don’t follow their gender guidelines and therefore cease to affiliate with them?

I just wanted to clarify that although my previous Op-Ed article is referenced in this article, I am not affiliated with the group Swat Vote Yes, nor was I contacted about these references prior to its publication. I would like to believe that the experiences I relate in that Op-Ed can speak for themselves, and leave it to the Swarthmore community to weigh my experience and the experiences that other students have shared in coming to a decision about how to vote.

I shared my story in the hopes of continuing to advance a civil dialogue about creating a supportive campus as well as a safe one. As we we now move into this next phase of the dialogue, I hope that we as a community can remember that this should be our common goal. Although this is an issue in which I clearly have personal investment, this is truly my concern, above any other. I have cast my vote, and I believe it to be my own business.

I’m holding the whole Swarthmore community in the light, all the way from abroad.

“A number of intensely troubling stories of sexual assault, violent behavior, and homophobic, sexist and racist hate speech committed by members of the fraternities, in and out of their houses, came to our attention.”

The referendum questions given do not actually seem to help with any of those issues. I apologize to this campus community for not being more vocal in this process.

Do you support ceasing Delta Upsilon’s and Kappa Alpha Theta’s affiliations to their national chapters?
Do you support admitting students of all genders to sororities and fraternities?
Do you support making fraternity houses into substance-free spaces?
Do you support merging all sororities and fraternities into one campus building?
Do you support having no campus buildings expressly for the purpose of housing Greek organizations?
Do you support the abolition of sororities and fraternities at Swarthmore College?

These concerns actually don’t address one of the biggest problems with Greek life, transparency. It seems this campaign’s advertising is trying to use the lack of transparency to cover up for points 1-6 and, at the same time, points 1-6 don’t actually help increase transparency for the fraternities.

I was upset to read a chalking in front of Parrish that reads that someone knows 5 serial rapists in the fraternities and that nothing is done about them because, the chalking suggests, they are in fraternities (disclaimer-the author cannot substantiate these claims -but it doesn’t matter to the point here). I feel like none of the points on the referendum is the correct solution to increase transparency over discipline on our campus. Personally, I would strongly suggest the removal of those rapists from this campus. To make our campus a safer place, the start needs to be with increased transparency, as seen in the chalking. None of these points get at that.

As for some other salient points brought up in this post, and by the referendum topics, I would strongly urge people to check out the letter written by the Thetas that shows how Swarthmore’s Thetas are different from the national organization by providing financial aid (to 100% of that requested) and being inclusive (admitting 100% of those who wanted to join).

Also, before shooting down the frats for not providing substantive change, I would like to know what they did propose at the meeting and would appreciate it if someone could post those suggestions they had. The point seems to be loaded with judgement, unsubstantiated and may be an attempt to slander the fraternities in the eye of the public.

I am sure other more vocal people will have more to add to this discussion. I suggest another referendum with measures to increase transparency, and without point number 6, because that puts the fraternities on the defensive, which is unhealthy for campus discussion.

If there were a solid measure that improved transparency, and therefore decreased the chance that rapists or any others could get away with extremely wrong items, I would vote yes to that item.

I love you. I have always thought transparency (to the end of determining as publicly as possible what has actually happened and what can be done to do justice to what has happened) was the overarching issue that could be relevant for every single last group on campus.

To clarify my position: I know there are a host of unique institutional power issues and instances regarding the fraternities, as many articles on the DG have argued and conveyed. I have just heard of some seriously vile shit happening in the contexts of _other groups_ as well that were defined by grotesque “circling the wagons” and in-group silencing. I want a full, renewed process by which we can deal with this shit, and if it ends up gobbling up the frats so be it, too.

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